NFL players' union decertifies

owners institute lockout

Star players file antitrust lawsuit against NFL

March 12, 2011|By Sam Farmer, Tribune newspapers

The union representing NFL players pushed away from the negotiating table and decertified Friday, an extreme measure that leaves the federal courts to determine the immediate future of the nation's most popular sports league.

By decertifying -- dissolving itself as a union -- the NFL Players Assn. has cleared the way for individual players to file antitrust lawsuits against the league, which likely could be barred from locking out those players. According to multiple reports, however, the league officially instituted a lockout after midnight on the East Coast.

In the immediate aftermath of decertifications, a group of players that included three of the NFL's most popular quarterbacks — Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees — filed an antitrust lawsuit against the league in U.S. District Court to prevent a lockout. The players allege that the NFL conspired to deny their ability to market their services.

The NFL and NFLPA participated in 17 days of sessions with a federal mediator, twice extending the expiration deadline of the collective bargaining agreement, but failed to strike a deal.

"We believe that ultimately this is going to be negotiated at the negotiating table," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said. "They've decided to pursue another strategy and that is their choice. But we are prepared to negotiate an agreement that is fair to the players and fair to the clubs."

One sticking point has been the NFL's resistance to release complete financial data on its teams, information it doesn't even share among clubs. The league said it was willing to share more financial information with the players than it ever has. The players argue that if they're being asked to give even more money back to the owners — money in addition to the $1 billion taken off the top before revenues are divided — they should be privy to the books.

"We met with the owners until about 4 o'clock today," NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith said about 15 minutes before the union decertified. "We discussed a proposal they had presented. At this time, significant differences continue to remain. We informed the owners that … if there was going to be a request for an extension, that we asked for 10 years of audited financial information to accompany that extension."

The NFLPA has transitioned into a voluntary trade association with no authority to negotiate for the players. Now labor lawyer Jeffrey Kessler will take the lead on behalf of the players.

The NFL and NFLPA are fighting over how to divide the league's $9 billion in annual revenues. Ever since forging the latest collective bargaining agreement in 2006, team owners have been unhappy with the deal, saying it doesn't provide them with a big enough share to both cover their costs and "grow the pie" with new stadiums, business initiatives and the like.

"Obviously, (the owners) want to make any concessions," Bears player representative Robbie Gould said. "Everyone understands the ramifications of decertification. I think everyone in the locker room will be very united. I don't really foresee unity being a problem with the players."

Giants owner John Mara, who attended several days of discussions between the sides in Washington, said the union's position on the core economic issues never changed "one iota" either before or during the 16 mediation sessions. Mara said the union's position since September was, "Take it or leave it."

"One thing that became painfully apparent to me during this period was that their objective was to go the litigation route," Mara said. "I think that they believe that that gives them the best leverage. I never really got the feeling during the past two weeks that they were serious about negotiating."

Each side is accusing the other of choosing a predetermined path — either lockout or decertification — and never veering. Those arguments will be pivotal in court, where each of the parties will need to prove they made a good-faith effort to strike a deal.

The NFL initially was asking for players to give back an additional $1 billion off the top, before revenues were divided 60-40 in favor of the players. The league said it reduced that request in negotiations and "more than split the economic difference" between the sides.

The league released what it described as a summary of its proposal to the players:

• An entry level compensation system based on the union's "rookie cap" proposal, rather than the wage scale proposed by the clubs. Under the NFL proposal, players drafted in rounds 2-7 would be paid the same or more than they are paid today. Savings from the first round would be reallocated to veteran players and benefits.

• A guarantee of up to $1 million of a player's salary for the contract year after his injury — the first time that the clubs have offered a standard multi-year injury guarantee.